IRAQ: UN arms inspectors have found no proof to support US and British allegations that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, the head of the Iraqi team liaising with the experts said yesterday.
"The UN inspectors have until now found no direct or indirect proof" that Iraq possesses weapons prohibited by the United Nations, said Gen Hossam Mohammad Amin, head of the National Monitoring Directorate.
"In the final analysis, the teams have not been able to find any evidence to support American and British allegations that Iraq is harbouring or storing banned weapons," Gen Amin told a press conference in Arabic.
"On the contrary, the teams have been able to see that all the information that was supplied to them by us was accurate." Iraq has consistently denied that it has or is developing any weapons prohibited by a variety of UN Security Council resolutions.
Asked about the list being prepared of Iraqi scientists associated with the country's earlier arms programmes, Gen Amin said it "will be ready in two or three days, probably Sunday, and Iraq will submit it to the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspections Commission (UNMOVIC)".
The US has urged the inspectors to use their powers under UN Security Council Resolution 1441, which tightened the inspections regime, to spirit Iraqi weapons scientists and their families out of the country and interview them safely away from any intimidation by the Baghdad regime. Asked what he thought about that, Gen Amin said "We do not think it is necessary ... people are free to accept these interviews or to refuse them.
"Not the National Monitoring Directorate, the Iraqi government, UNMOVIC or the International Atomic Energy Agency can constrain anyone to be interviewed. We leave them the choice to accept or refuse," he said.
The UN announced earlier in December that it had given Iraq until the end of the month to provide a complete list of scientists currently and formerly involved in its chemical, biological, nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and associated research, development and production facilities.
Meanwhile, US and British aircraft yesterday attacked a military communications facility in southern Iraq in retaliation for the downing of an unmanned US spy plane earlier this week.
The US Central Command said the attack with precision-guided weapons came on the facility near Tallil, about 280 kilometres southeast of Baghdad. The attack was in retaliation for Monday's downing of the Predator spy drone by Iraqi anti-aircraft fire and warplanes which entered the "no-fly" zone over the southern part of the country, the command said in a statement.
"Coalition strikes in the no-fly zones are executed as a self-defence measure in response to Iraqi hostile threats and acts against coalition forces and their aircraft," the statement said.
In Baghdad, the official INA news agency said three Iraqis were killed and 16 wounded in the strike. - (AFP)